Twenty thousand years ago during the time of the last ice age period, many.
colossal mammals roamed North America. They survived during the times when much of.
the earth was covered by immense large bodies of ice that buried forests, fields, and.
mountains, but rapidly became extinct after the ice began to retreat and melt. Since then.
the human race has introduced many different theories to explain the extinction of these.
large mammals. One theory stands above all and explains the truth of this mysterious.
disappearance. The Paleo Indians that entered North America from Asia, the climate.
change, soil, vegetation and water levels were all major factors in this extinction. The.
results of these factors left the biggest impact on the food chain of these animals. The.
domino-effect of all these factors is responsible for the extinction of the ice age mammals.
Animals, like all other living organisms have a tendency to adapt to the.
environment in which they live. A cold climate favors large animals, since large animals.
have more body fat and lose heat at a slower rate then do smaller animals. That is why.
many of the mammals that lived during the ice age were enormous. These large animals.
consisted of ground sloths and armadillos which came northward from South America,.
and horses, saber-toothed cats, mammoths, antelopes, and muskoxen that crossed over the.
land bridge from Asia into North America.
For the longest time fossils from many parts of North America were the only.
evidence that many of these large beasts had once roamed the land, but in the spring of.
1846 an unbelievable event happened that brought the world a step closer to the mystery.
of this great extinction. A Russian explorer Benkendorf and his survey team from Russia.
were heading for the mouth of the Indigirka River in Siberia. When they reached the spot.
of their destination, the land had disappeared and everything had changed. Left behind.